The New York Court of Appeals has overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction in a 4-3 ruling.
The court determined that the judge’s decision to allow testimony from women alleging assaults not directly related to the charges against Weinstein prejudiced the jury. As a result, Weinstein’s case will be retried in New York.
Judge Jenny Rivera emphasized that defendants should not be judged based on uncharged crimes intended solely to establish a propensity for criminal behavior.
Weinstein remains incarcerated in New York despite this ruling, as he was convicted in a separate 2022 Los Angeles case, receiving a 16-year sentence for charges including sexual penetration by a foreign object, forcible oral copulation, and forcible rape stemming from a 2013 incident at a hotel.
Weinstein’s initial downfall in 2017, when allegations against him surfaced, played a significant role in sparking the #MeToo movement. This narrative was captured in the 2022 film “She Said.”
